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Chapter 3
Tangled by the Webs
Wayward Woods S3 (still)
Terron felt his hands tremble as the epiphany dawned upon him: somehow, Zekra had gone missing.
His mind raced, quickly coming up with several possibilities as to what could of happened. Had Zekra been captured during a battle, when he wasn't looking? Had she been knocked out and taken somewhere within the dark depths of the dungeon? Had she escaped the dungeon on her own and left him behind?
Terron's breath caught the second he realized that he couldn't remember the last time he had actually seen her.
He wasn't incredibly fond of Zekra, but he dreaded the thought of her being alone in the hostile environment. He was worried for his own well-being of course, but Zekra's seemed more important right now. She may have been somewhat experienced, but being alone in a world filled with dangerous creatures was a terrible situation to be in.
"TERROOOON!" a familiar voice screamed in the distance.
Terron's panicking immediately ceased as he looked up toward the source of the noise. It was coming from another path in the area. Zekra hadn't disappeared after all; she was still around and Terron could still get to her. Hope quickly sprouted in Terron's heart and gave him the energy to bolt back to the beginning of the sector where all of the trails lay.
"Where are you?!" Terron shouted as loudly as his lungs allowed him.
His yells echoed through the woods for a few seconds before the forest became eerily silent. Terron nervously played with his hands as he prayed Zekra would answer him. Seconds later, that prayer was answered.
"By the Spinarak web you saw earlier!" her voice answered.
Terron wasted no time in hurrying down the path. Any thoughts about the rumbling in his stomach or the throbbing pain from his battle were ignored. His mind could only focus on Zekra and nothing else. He didn't even feel the grass beneath his feet as he sprinted as fast as he could toward the web he had visited earlier.
When he came to the web, Terron was met with a horrifying sight. He immediately skidded to a halt a few feet in front of the web and blinked a few times, just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Zekra was in the middle of the web and wrapped up in a tight cocoon that covered all of her body except her head. She was thrashing around and attempting to bite herself free from the prison, but it was to no avail. She was stuck in her silky prison.
Surrounding her were three Spinarak, all clicking their pincers eagerly.
"Terron!" Zekra cried in a strange mix of desperation and excitement.
GET OUT OF THE WAY!
What? Terron thought. It's the voice... what does it-
"Look out, Terron!"
A strand of silk struck the Cubone's free arm and wrapped itself around his limb, forming a small, cast-like prison around his forearm. Before it could spread further, Terron moved out of the line of fire and looked up toward its source. There, in a tree branch high above him, was a Spinarak with its eyes set on the Cubone.
The bug-type snapped its pincers together a few times and then fired a swarm of purple darts at Terron. The Cubone hastily sprang out of the way, narrowly avoiding the projectiles. The Spinarak only continued to fire more darts, keeping its attacks trained on him. Terron ran around the trail, avoiding a good majority of the attacks. Whenever they did hit though, they always stung like little needles pricking his skin. Yet, Terron continued to keep running, never letting the pain wear him down.
He glanced over at Zekra as he avoided the sprays of projectiles and saw that the other Spinarak were starting to gather toward her. A deep fear sunk into his heart. He couldn't let Zekra be eaten. And yet, he didn't know what to do.
THROW YOUR WEAPON!
Um, I don't think I have good aim. And what if I lose this? It's the only weapon I have.
DON'T ARGUE WITH ME! I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING! DO IT!
Terron saw that it was pointless to argue and allowed himself to submit to the commands of the voice. He clutched the bone in his hand and held it back. Then, he flung it forward. The bone soared through the air as it swung around in circles swiftly, making it a white blur. It flew toward the branch the Spinarak sat in and before the spider could react, the spinning weapon collided with its body. The creature fell to the ground from the sudden shock of the impact as the bone came swinging back to Terron.
GRAB IT!
Terron held out his hand without even thinking about it. Seconds later, the bone smacked into his paw as he simultaneously gripped his claws around it. He could feel the dull thudding in his palm from catching such a fast moving object, but he paid it no mind. He looked over at Zekra to see that one of the creatures was about to sink its fangs into the Zorua. She squirmed and thrashed violently, but to no avail.
The Cubone tossed his bone forward without a second thought. It immediately collided with the spider, instantly rendering it unconscious as it thumped to the ground. The club rebounded off of its collapsed form before coming back in Terron's hand. He felt the weapon crack due to its hollow and fragile form, but this didn't bother him, for it was still usable.
One of the Spinarak jumped off of the web and on the ground near Terron. The other one stayed with Zekra, looming near her with an almost protective stance. Terron tightened his grip on his club, further cracking the weapon.
The Spinarak on the ground glared at Terron for a brief second before it spat out a swarm of the violet needles. Terron hastily jumped to the side just as the projectiles went past him before running toward the creature again. The Spinarak's eyes shifted as he closed in on the bug-type.
You know what to do now. You don't need my commands anymore. My work here is done.
Terron nodded silently and pushed his feet against the ground, leaping into the air. Just as he jumped, the Spinarak shot a thin line of silk, barely missing him by a hair. As he rose above the attack, Terron threw his bone forward, watching it sail before it smacked into the bug-type's back.
The Spinarak gave off a shriek as its legs gave out and fell to the grassy floor with a dull thump. The bone returned to Terron's paw at once. However, to ensure that the bug-type would no longer fight, Terron landed on the face sprawled on his foe's back. There was a loud snap, and then the Spinarak's head hit the ground, eyes dull. The creature was still alive, as its pincers occasionally twitched, but the state it was currently in was satisfactory for Terron.
Terron stepped off the comatose form of his former target before locking his sights onto the last Spinarak. It shot him a glare and hissed quietly. Terron scowled as he flung his weapon forward, watched it instantly smash into the creature, and then caught it as it came back to him. The spider was immediately knocked out, but it remained tangled in its own webbing. But despite this, there were no more Spinarak. Terron and Zekra were safe.
For now.
Terron made his way over to the entangled Zorua until he was in front of the web. The adrenaline left his system and and the weariness washed over him, but he fought it off to the best of his ability. He couldn't afford to let exhaustion win him over. He looked up at Zekra with a tired grin. Despite being saved from the bug-types, Zekra continued to squirm.
"Are you okay?" Terron asked softly.
"Y-Yeah," Zekra stuttered as she looked over at him. "I just really hate bug-types… I have a really hard time dealing with them and they've got those webs I can't get out of and… uggggh. Get me down from here… Get me down. Now. Please. Before more get here."
"Alright. Here, grab this."
He took his bone and held it out toward her until it was right in front of her face. She sank her fangs into the weapon, and with a nod, Terron pulled back with all of his might. There was some resistance, but she came flying off the web nonetheless, and tumbled along the ground, still covered in the silk bindings. She spat out a wad of dirt as Terron made his way over to her.
"If you're going to try and rip this stuff off me, don't bother," Zekra warned. "It'll get all over you and then both of us will get stuck. And I really don't think you want to be stuck in this stuff. So you're going to have to think of a different way. You know, as quickly as possible. Because I really hate being in this stuff and kind of don't want some more of those Spinarak to come and suck out my insides. So you know, no rush... but think of something. Like right now."
Terron rolled his eyes at the comment, but said nothing in return. Instead, he brought his gaze upon the bone in his hands. Though specifically, the ever growing cracks that were forming all throughout it. An idea formed in his mind, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to sacrifice the only weapon he had.
His stomach growled painfully. It was then that he realized that he had been so busy panicking and fighting, that he had forgotten how hungry he had been. Having this new factor enter his mind, he realized that perhaps it was better to do what came to mind rather than to go search for something else to free Zekra. If it meant getting out of the dungeon faster, he'd do it.
Without hesitation, Terron grabbed his weapon with his two hands on the opposite sides of the shaft and clutched them tightly. He then pushed his arms downward with as much strength as he could muster and soon heard the repeated sounds of cracking. He smiled as he watched the middle of the bone form a giant fracture until it gave way, snapping the bone into two pieces with jagged ends where they once connected. He dropped one of the pieces of the bone, and then took the other over to Zekra. He tore it straight down the middle of her cocoon with the sharp edge and watched as the strands came apart.
Once he had cut the casing completely open, Terron pulled the bindings off of Zekra until she was free of her silk prison. She took in several deep breaths as she got to her feet and shook her paws, removing the residue from her fur. As she did this, Terron used his fractured weapon to cut through the silk cast wrapped around his arm and removed it from himself with ease.
"Awesome, I'm free," Zekra said pleasantly. "Thanks a bunch! Now I don't have to get all of my insides sucked out. My intestines are safe now!"
Another agonizing rumble came from Terron's stomach, causing him to wince.
"Yeah, you're welcome," Terron said hurriedly as he looked toward the exit of the path he was on. "But can we save it for later? I really need to find some food. So we need to get out of here."
"I think this way should get us out of here as long as we can get that Spinarak web out of the way," Zekra said as she pointed down the path. "Maybe."
Without a moment to waste, Terron picked up the other piece of the bone he had split and put it into his other hand. He then took the makeshift knives and cut through a section of the web. Parts of the web stuck to his bones, but Terron didn't find himself concerned about that. All he wanted was to get out of the dungeon as fast as he could. Once he had made a passage through the blockade, he and Zekra then dashed toward the light at the end of the path.
Aurora Town Outskirts
Terron and Zekra ran out of the dungeon's exit and soon found themselves standing in a small grove filled with a wide variety of berry trees. Zekra brought herself to a halt as she caught her breath, but not the same could be same for Terron. The Cubone ran ahead of her and went to one of the trees and swiped off a pink, heart-shaped fruit from its branches. He hastily tore off a large chunk with his teeth, feeling an overwhelming sweetness slide down his throat. But he paid it no mind and swallowed it down before grabbing another berry. He too shoved it down his mouth, proceeding to do this with any other fruits he could find.
Fifty of the berries later, Terron felt his eyes start to droop as the sickening sweet taste of the berry filled his mouth. He blinked sluggishly as he pressed his back against the tree's trunk and then slid down into a sitting position. As he rested his head against the bark, Zekra stopped before him.
"Well looks like someone was hungry," Zekra grinned.
"Yeah, yeah" Terron replied carelessly. "I was starving, alright? I'm just glad there was food right outside of that Mystery Dungeon. Because really, I don't think I would have lasted another second."
He yawned as he looked up at the moon. He almost forgot it was still night time.
"So what do we do now?" Terron asked. "Aurora Town is right there. Do you want to go there now?"
"Well, I bet almost everyone's asleep right now," Zekra answered as she looked out toward the town. "I kinda wanted to get to town right now... but I'm just not really in the mood to do anymore walking. And plus, you look like you're going to pass out anyway. So yeah, let's just call it a night here. Shame we had to go all the way through that dungeon just to wait outside of it anyway... but oh well."
Terron snorted and waved her off dismissively. She chuckled at the reaction as she plopped down beside him.
"Hey Terron?" she said as she rested her head in her paws.
"Yeah?"
"Umm, thanks for coming here with me and not ditching me in the dungeon. I didn't want to walk around by myself, honestly. It's nice to have somebody with me after I escaped and everyone in town d-"
Zekra suddenly stopped talking. Terron looked at her and much to his surprise, saw there was something wrong with her eyes. They were distant and hazy now, as if she were off in her own little world.
"Hey, snap out of it."
Terron reached over and poked her with a claw.
However, rather than respond to the prodding, Zekra's head slumped to the ground, eyes closed. Whatever had been glimmering in her eyes for that moment was no longer present. Terron sighed as he leaned back against his tree.
Alright, so we're in Aurora Town now. Well next to it anyway. I could leave Zekra tomorrow if I wanted to. I'm here in civilization and could easily get help from someone else. It wouldn't be that hard. But... do I want to?
He glanced over at Zekra, who continued to slumber. He felt a sudden twinge of pain in his heart.
I could go off on my own, but what about her? What's she going to do if I leave her? She seems so happy to have me around, even if she has a pretty weird way of showing it. Do I want to leave her when she seems to like me so much? And not only that, but she's pretty good at battling. If I go off on my own and get into trouble, I'll have nobody to protect me. I mean, I can fight, but having someone help out is always good.
Terron kept his eyes on her for a moment longer before releasing a long sigh.
Yeah. I guess I'll stay with her. She seems to like me and wants to help me and really, that's the best thing I've got right now, now that I'm a Cubone in this strange world...
With that thought in mind, Terron rested his head against the tree before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The next morning, Terron found himself sleeping on the ground, presumably from having fallen over the previous night. Though his muscles were sore, he felt mostly refreshed and was ready to start the new day. He stretched his arms as he slowly got to his feet and looked over to his side to see how Zekra was.
She was nowhere in sight, just like yesterday morning. Terron figured she was getting breakfast for herself, so he didn't think much on it. He went around the trees in the grove and gathered some more berries for his breakfast, mostly round, blue ones he found after a bit of searching. They had a strange taste to them that seemed to change from one flavor to the next every time he chewed them. However, he didn't mind the taste, as the fruits also seemed to relieve his aching muscles through some means.
Today's the day Zekra and I go to Aurora Town and try and find somebody who can help me out. Terron told himself. I wonder what towns are like in this world... and the Pokémon as well. Will any of them believe that I'm human? Will anybody even listen to me if I ask about humans? As a matter of fact, how are Zekra and I going to figure out where to find some answers about myself? It's not like I can just walk up to some random Pokémon and ask them if they know anything about humans turning into Pokémon. No, that's just a good way for somebody to believe I'm crazy.
It was then that Terron noticed Zekra coming toward him with a couple of berries hanging from her mouth. He was incredibly grateful that it wasn't a Pokémon clenched in her fangs.
"Hey, morning," Zekra said as she stopped in front of him and ate the fruit.
"Hey," Terron said with a small wave. "How's it going?"
"Fine, just got myself some breakfast is all. I'm not normally one for berries, but I think they're okay every once in a while. Figured I wouldn't go back into the Mystery Dungeon by myself and try to catch something to eat. Not with all of those Spinarak. Nooooooo."
Terron struggled to keep the mental image of Zekra grinning evilly with corpses scattered about her, body coated with the blood of wild Pokémon out of his mind.
"I was thinking about this earlier," Terron said with a reluctant grimace, "but how exactly are we going to find answers about why I'm a Cubone? I mean, we can't just walk up to some random townsfolk and ask about humans when they supposedly don't even exist in this world. It doesn't work like that."
"Huh, I didn't really think about that actually," Zekra admitted as she awkwardly rubbed her head. "Well, how about we just go into town and explore to see if there's maybe somebody there that can figure out why you got amnesia? Like some expert psychic-type who can search your mind for your lost memories?"
"There's Pokémon that can do that to my mind?"
"Yeah. Not every psychic-type can do that, but some of them can. So how about we try that?"
"Um, I'm not exactly comfortable with the idea of somebody just invading my brain and reading all of my thoughts."
"Aw what? It won't be so bad! Besides, it might be the only way to get your lost memories anyway. I mean, how else can anybody figure out who you are? It's not like some random Pokémon is just going to show up and tell you that they know everything about you and then just give you all of that information."
"Okay, fine," Terron said with a defeated sigh. "Just make sure they don't damage my brain somehow."
"Oh, I'll make sure of that," Zekra said with an evil grin. "Now let's get going. We're gonna have to do a bit of searching and it could take a while."
Though still feeling his innards twisting uncomfortably, Terron nodded and together, the two headed for the city.
Aurora Town
Terron and Zekra stood at the entrance of their destination, which was the border between the grassy paths they had been travelling on for miles and the tan, stone-paved paths that crept through the entire town. As Terron gazed into the town, he could see that all of the buildings were quite small and meant to resemble the heads of many Pokémon, or at least have the head somewhere on the building. It was a bit of strange sight since he could remember what human buildings looked like, which were always so tall and looked so alike to one another. Still, these had a nice charm to them.
Trees occupied several areas of space within the city, such as growing between various shops or even having tree-houses built on them. Much of the town, in fact, seemed to be just a city built within a forest and worked with nature instead of demolishing everything. It was very unlike the Mystery Dungeon forest they had gone through. Many different kinds of Pokémon walked around Terron, all seeming pleasant and of good cheer whenever they spoke with one another, whether it be at shops or with one another.
Terron looked over at Zekra and to his surprise, found that the faraway expression was in her eyes again.
"Is something bothering you?" Terron asked.
"Huh?"
Zekra looked over at Terron and seemed to noticed him staring at her. She smiled faintly.
"Oh, no it's fine. I was just thinking about something is all," she assured.
Terron gave her a suspicious stare, but didn't bother to press the question. They had more important things to do. Plus, something inside of him didn't want to start any kind of emotionally charged conversations. He didn't know what or why, but it was keeping him away from the topic.
"Well, we're here," Terron said as he watched pedestrians go by. "So where do you suppose we start?"
"Let's try walking around a bit and see if we spot any kind of booths that have what we're looking," Zekra suggested. "Or at least any psychic Pokémon roaming around."
The two entered into town and immediately searched for any sign of psychics. As they weaved through the crowds of Pokémon that filled the streets, Terron couldn't help but notice that they were all giving him odd glances, presumably since he lacked the trademark helmet of Cubone. They were very subtle, such as a quick look at their side or staring back at him after he had passed by, but Terron could still feel their eyes. It sent an uncomfortable shiver down his spine and he almost wanted to go back outside the city where no one could give him those stares. However, he reminded himself of his intended task and pressed on while trying to ignore everybody else.
By the time Terron and Zekra got to the other side of the city, they still hadn't found anybody that seemed to be able to help. Instead, they found themselves sitting on the sidelines of the pathways nearby some shops that hardly anyone seemed to be visiting at the current moment. Terron played around with the two bone pieces he had held onto with a bored expression while Zekra stared off vacantly into the distance.
Moments of silence passed between them before Zekra finally spoke up.
"I know this is out of the way," Zekra said as she played with her paws, "but I did need to visit someplace around here. You can come with me if you want or just stay here, but I really need to go somewhere. I mean, we'll keep looking for somebody to help you when we're done with this little errand. It shouldn't take too long. That okay?"
"I suppose it's better than sitting around here," Terron shrugged carelessly before getting to his feet. "I'll come with, I guess. But where are we going?"
"You'll see when we get there."
The Zorua got up and then started walking back into the heart of town. Terron followed after her from behind and tried to figure out where they were going based on what buildings they were passing. Zekra was leading him down the side of town that went north geographically as opposed to the western and eastern sides they had traveled on earlier. There were lesser amounts of Pokémon here as there had been in the other areas of town, but at least nobody stared at Terron this time. They all seemed too much in a hurry for something.
Eventually, Terron and Zekra found themselves in front of a building that was much different from all the others they had seen. Unlike all the others, this one wasn't in the shape of a Pokémon head. It was more rectangular in shape and seemed to be made out of some kind of stone. It was still one story tall as all the other buildings in the area however, and it lacked a door so that Pokémon could freely walk in and out of the building without too much of a problem. A large sign was plastered on the top of the building and written in a strange writing that seemed to be made of footprints. Terron squinted at it, unable to read the strange language.
"What is this place?" Terron asked.
Zekra looked up at the sign for a moment and then brought her gaze back at Terron. Her eyes were dull and for just a second, Terron thought he wasn't looking at Zekra anymore.
"This is the Aurora Town Police Station," she said.
Without another word she walked into the building, leaving behind Terron. The Cubone found himself frozen on the spot, baffled by her words. Concepts of what the police were and what they did crept into Terron's thoughts.
The police station? Why would she need to go in there? Is she going to turn me in or something? Does she secretly think I'm crazy because I say I'm human and she wants to get rid of me? No, that can't be right!
Terron hurried his way into the building as well. Just as he was about to go through the doorway, he accidentally bumped into an Ariados that happened to be walking out of the building. The second he locked eyes with the creature, he felt an instant dread fill him. Its stature was astounding compared to him and standing right next to it made Terron feel very small and fragile. It did not help that the Ariados's pre-evolutions had attacked him the previous day.
"Sorry about that," the Ariados said with a male, elderly voice.
"It's fine," Terron said calmly despite the unease he felt. "Just let me through. I need to get inside."
The Ariados stepped outside of the building, but then stopped and looked back at the Cubone.
"Say, I don't think I've seen you around here," the Ariados noted. "Are you new around here?"
"Yeah, I am," Terron said quickly.
Then, before the Ariados could ask any further questions, Terron left the being's side and entered the building. He only had to wander for a few seconds before he spotted Zekra.
She was standing in front of a counter and speaking to an Electabuzz that was on the other side. Behind the Electabuzz were at least a hundred file cabinets made of wood that took up most of the entire wall. Pokémon could be seen in the background taking things out of these cabinets and also putting new items in before going about their normal business. However, Terron paid no attention to them and instead focused on Zekra and the Electabuzz.
"What brings you here?" the Electabuzz asked Zekra with a suspicious stare. "And who are you?"
"My name is Zekra and I've come to report something," Zekra answered. "I come from a place east of here known as Blackoak Town. It's on the other side of the Grey Lands and nearby... Emerald Mountain. You've heard of that town haven't you?"
"Yes, some of the merchants in this town like to travel to that town at times, particularly in the summer. Why?"
Zekra stared at the police officer for a while as an eerie silence came between the two. Terron had no idea what was bothering Zekra, but he choose to stay where he was and remain quiet. She was trying to get something done and didn't need his help.
At long last, Zekra finally spoke.
"Blackoak Town's citizens were all killed when they were evacuating their homes," Zekra said in a monotone, yet her voice seemed to crack at the last few words. "Everyone's gone... except me. I was the only one who made it out."
Terron's eyes grew as he watched Zekra hang her head. He honestly hadn't expected that Zekra to be a survivor from such an event based on her somewhat cheerful attitude. Yetm despite how surprised Terron was, the Electabuzz didn't quite seem so.
"And how exactly did everybody die?" the officer asked.
"Everyone was going to come here," Zekra explained quietly, keeping her face hidden. "We were told that something was happening at Emerald Mountain that was going to be a problem even though they never explained what. So everyone started leaving and we were going through the cliffs that lead to the Grey Lands. And then that's when it happened..."
"That's when what happened?"
Terron saw Zekra trying to form words, but nothing came out of her mouth. She shook as her eyes widened, as if she were seeing things that everyone else could not. Terron took no time to hesitate and immediately came to her side.
"Zekra! Snap out of it!" Terron urged. "Finish your story! Tell them what happened!"
"And who are you?" the Electabuzz asked indifferently.
"I'm Terron," he answered, pausing for a moment to dwell in how odd it was to refer to himself by the replacement name. "I'm Zekra's friend."
"But I thought that her entire town was destroyed by some unknown reason. There aren't any towns between here and Blackoak that she could have met you at."
"I met her at-"
"There were so many of them..." Zekra suddenly said.
Terron and the officer looked over at her to find that she was still in the same state she had been in previously. But somehow, it seemed much worse now.
"What?" Terron said slowly, not understanding what she was talking about.
"I saw what took away everybody," Zekra explained as her breathing shortened. "They were these things... these things! I don't know what they were, but they took everybody! They came out of nowhere and trapped everyone so that nobody could escape! They were like Pokémon, but there are no Pokémon that should look like that! They were like ghosts of normal Pokémon, but it's much worse than that! Whenever they stare at you, their eyes, their eyes, they burn into you! They look right at your soul! And they took everyone I knew from town away from me! Everyone! I don't even know how I lived... but everyone else is dead! I just wanted to come here to tell somebody that so that maybe somebody can stop them... I just want somebody to listen... somebody... anybody..."
Terron watched her breathe in heavily after saying all of that. He wanted to say something to get her to calm down, but he didn't know what. All he could do was watch and stare.
"So you're saying that there's this gang of Pokémon that are killing others?" the Electabuzz clarified, apparently not fazed by all of the information. "Hmmmmmmm... well, we'll see if we've heard of any sightings of that. So why don't you two kids go relax and come back another day and I'll tell you I anything new came?"
Terron scowled at the comment. He was about to give the Electabuzz a violent lashing, but stopped himself. He was in a police station; he couldn't make a scene without there being a giant fuss, nor was there much else he could do about the situation.
He forced himself to take in a deep breath.
"Yeah, fine," Terron said bitterly. "Guess we will. Come on Zekra, let's get going. Let's go find somewhere to stay for the night."
The Zorua nodded slowly as the two went outside. Once they had exited the police station, the two headed back to the square in search of an inn to stay at. However, what neither of them noticed was that the Ariados Terron had run into earlier was still standing near the doorway and had been doing so the whole time they had been talking to the Electabuzz. He had heard everything.
He watched the two disappear from his view.
"So they know," the Ariados whispered.
His eyes glanced around anxiously, and then he darted away into the farther reaches of the city.
Hours had passed and Terron and Zekra were now resting in an inn that allowed them to stay for free since they had helped temporarily with some errands. They now lay in their hay beds in a mostly vacant room, both silent as could be. Terron was busy thinking about what had happened earlier and found himself still simmering at the thought of the police not helping them. Hadn't they seen that Zekra was being truthful? Couldn't they have done something better than say to come back in a few days?
Terron looked over at Zekra to find that she was attempting to fall asleep in her bed, but was unable to relax.
Knowing about what had happened to Zekra had completely changed how Terron looked at her now. She was no longer just somebody who was always smiling and helping Terron with his quest since she was a kind Pokémon. She was a lost soul, an orphan as Terron could very well assume, and was filled with pain that couldn't be mended instantly. It would take a long time to repair the damage brought upon her.
However, he couldn't bring up the subject no matter how hard he tried. He wanted to talk to Zekra about herself and try to find some way to help out, but he couldn't do it.
"Hey, Terron."
Terron looked over at her Zekra hearing her voice to find that she was staring at him. There was a somewhat more peaceful expression in her eyes now, but melancholy feelings still seemed to linger.
"I'm sorry we couldn't find anybody to help you today," Zekra sighed. "We can try looking tomorrow though if you want."
"It's alright," Terron said. "I mean, today was a rough day. You don't have to worry about it."
There was quiet for a few minutes. It was apparent that Zekra wasn't going to talk about what was going on in her mind either. Perhaps it was better that way between the two of them. Terron sighed before he closed his eyes.
"Sorry to bother you two at this hour."
Terron's eyes snapped open as he jolted up. He saw a figure standing at the window of the room that lead to the outside world. Through the pale moonlight that shined into the room, Terron was able to see that it was the same Ariados that he had met earlier at the police station. As soon as Zekra saw the Ariados, she jumped backwards a few feet.
"Who are you?" Zekra asked, her voice shaking.
"I'm not allowed to answer that yet," the Ariados replied. "But, what I can say is that I was sent here to find you two and that you're to come with me. There are some Pokémon who want to see you."
"Like who?" Terron questioned.
"Friends of mine," the Ariados said simply. "But I can't tell you anything other than that right now unless you agree to come. I can assure you though that you won't be harmed in any way. I don't like to harm others who haven't done anything wrong."
"I don't exactly trust you, so there's no way I'm coming," Terron stated firmly.
"I'm not going either!" Zekra added defensively. "You can't just sneak into somebody's sleeping place and expect them to do whatever you want! That's not a good way of convincing somebody!"
The Ariados sighed in disappointment as he shook his head.
"I didn't want to have to take you two by force," the Ariados said, "but I'm afraid that I'm not allowed to come back empty-handed."
A white string of silk suddenly shot out of his mouth and zoomed toward Zekra and Terron. The two were about to run, but the single strand instantly split in several directions to form a giant web. The web swiftly fell over Terron and Zekra before it closed completely around them like a trap. Once they were sealed together in the webbing, the Ariados brought the two encased Pokémon to him by sucking the silk back into his mouth. When they were right in front of him, he then cut off the end of the string where the webbing once was. The two squirmed and shrieked as they attempted to get out, but the Ariados chose to ignore them. He put them on his back where they stuck thanks to the sticky substance of the silk.
Then in an instant, he disappeared out the window with the two in tow.
? the Ariados belongs to ScytheRider